Underneath the Underneath
by KuriQuinn
Summary: As observant as he is, it takes Kakashi years before he realises he's in an actual, adult relationship. (T for now, rating could change) [Part of the Legacy of Fire Series]
1. Chapter One

**Summary: As observant as he is, it take Kakashi years before he realises he's in an actual, adult relationship.**

 **Disclaimer:** **This story utilizes characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelizations, comics or short stories is intended by the author in any way, shape or form. This fan oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All fiction, plot and Original Characters with the exception of those introduced in the books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn and using them without permission is considered rude, in bad-taste and will reflect seriously on your credibility as a writer. You will be forced to juggle geese until you drop dead should you be found plagiarizing.**

 **Warning : Spoilers for pretty much everything up to Chapter 699.**

 **Canon-Compliance:** **As close to canon as fanfiction can possibly be. With a few personal additions :P Takes place during Part I, Part II and the Blank Period.**

 **Fanon-Compliance:** **Takes place several years before** ** _An Inch of Gold_** **and** ** _Unplanned_** **.**

 **AN:** **OC alert! There is an OC in this story! Ohmygosh! Okay, so I have had a lot of interest in my OC, Manako, over the past little while, and I got a few requests here, on AO3 and on tumblr to start showing her relationship with Kakashi a little more. I had been meaning to wait until once I finished with all my SasuSaku headcanon stuff, but then I thought, why not write it now? Kakashi and Manako's relationship happens entirely off-screen so as not to interfere or impose on the canon, so I can write a few pieces every now and then for those of you who are curious. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Ah! Kakashi, my venerable rival!" Maito Gai declares with his usual pomp, pointing one finger straight in front of him, while his other hand remains hidden behind his back. "Today is the day when we settle our longstanding, noble contest!"

Kakashi raises his single visible eyebrow at the digit two inches from his nose. "Is that so?"

"Yes! You see, as I was enjoying my balanced and revitalising morning repast, I heard a foreigner mention a competition from their land! The honourable and youthful pursuit of _juggling geese!"_

From behind his back, Gai produces a tiny gosling that blinks up at Kakashi and honks in puzzlement.

Kakashi returns that blink. Behind him, he hears Kurenai and Asuma stifle chuckles.

"That's a goose," he says eventually.

"Well-spotted, you keen-eyed animal, you!"

Kakashi counts to three in his head, and then points out in as reasonable a voice as he can manage, "Isn't juggling geese a little cruel?"

"Nonsense! Our Konoha poultry is the hardiest of the land!"

 _That's not what I_ _…_ _what even_ _…_ _?_

There are so many logical, well-thought out arguments against this, and yet Kakashi knows from experience none of them will suffice. And so, he pounces on Gai's ridiculousness in the hopes he can dissuade him for once.

"If the purpose is to juggle geese, shouldn't there be more than one?"

Gai's elated expressions holds for several seconds longer, and then his shoulders slump and he glares into the distance.

"Damn you, Kakashi, with your cool logic!"

 _Well, that was a narrowly avoided spot of—_

"Fear not! I will return with a gaggle of goslings for us to test our juggling acumen!"

And he speeds off, leaving Kakashi holding the goose.

"Well…" Asuma begins.

"That's certainly an interesting way to begin the morning," Kurenai adds.

Gai hurries back, snatches the confused bird, and disappears again. Kurenai shakes her head. "Is it just me or does he get more high-spirited every day?"

"It's not just you," Asuma assures her. "The man could tire out the gods…"

Kakashi sighs and glances at the sky; the sun isn't even at its zenith yet.

This is not how his routine is supposed to go.

Not that he ever consciously planned to have something as mundane as a _routine_. As a general rule, shinobi avoid having those, being that they are trained to expect the unexpected. However, over the years since he moved up the ranks in Konoha, a certain procedure has emerged nonetheless.

Every morning he rises before dawn and visits the cemetery, standing before the Memorial Stone to pay respect to his fallen comrades. Depending on his mood he may simply spare them a few words, or perhaps he'll spend an hour or two in silent remembrance of Obito, Rin and Minato-sensei. Afterward, he heads to Hokage Tower to see if there's anything Lord Third intends him to do.

It's been almost a year since the Hokage removed him from active duty with ANBU, as well as mandatory therapy and instruction to readapt his teaching methods for genin. Eventually he will be assigned his first genin squad, but for now he's simply on the village duty roster. Still, the missions Lord Third assigns him are always for the best of the village.

In any case, he has a lot more recreational time than he ever did before. Privately he thinks the old man is hoping he'll use these newfound free periods to socialise more, but at this point in his life, Kakashi isn't keen on seeking out friendship. As a child he didn't like the idea of mingling with other people, and as an adult he is even more socially hesitant.

 _It's not exactly easy to make friends when every person you've ever cared about died and everyone else holds you responsible for it._

Still, in spite of his reluctance, he has forged some connections within the village.

First and foremost, there's Gai, whose presence in his life was insisted upon by their respective fathers. By now, the taijutsu master is so much of a habit for Kakashi that he's not quite sure what he'd do without him. No day is complete without one of Gai's ridiculous competitions, though Kakashi tries to avoid them until the evening for simple conservation of energy.

In the past few years, he's also found himself in the company of Asuma more and more often. Kakashi is pretty sure the man has been ordered by his father to keep an eye on him, which would be annoying if Asuma were less interesting. The Hokage's son is well-learned and well-travelled, and his stories fill the silences that would otherwise be awkward.

Then there's Kurenai, who goes wherever Asuma does these days, and Yugao. She's the only one of his former ANBU squad that he speaks to with anything resembling regularity, if only because she's been going on fewer mission since she and Hayate started spending more time together. Tenzō, when he isn't off on missions, will invite Kakashi for a drink or a meal (and then they both spend the evening trying to nonchalantly trick the other into paying for it).

He tries not to think of Itachi Uchiha at all.

"Are you actually going to juggle geese?" Kurenai asks, her mouth quirking upwards at Kakashi.

Asuma chuckles again. "That sounds like it would be messy…"

"Maybe I'll be assigned a mission and be able to avoid him," Kakashi groans.

"I don't know – it looks like he's coming back," Kurenai points out, staring out into the distance.

Kakashi doesn't need to be told twice.

Without really looking, he dives through the door of the nearest shop, just in time to avoid Gai's triumphant return – now balancing half a dozen geese in his arms.

Peeking through the corner of the nearby window, he watches as Gai—upon realising Kakashi is nowhere to be found—begins to demonstrate exactly _how_ one juggles geese to a bemused Kurenai and Asuma.

Kakashi sighs and slumps down, pressing his head against the wall. It's going to be a while before he can slip away. Maybe there's a back entrance somewhere—

"Unless you're looking for a way to blow shit up, you shouldn't be here," a bored voice says from somewhere behind him. "My boss doesn't like loitering."

Kakashi looks up, noticing in the process that his chosen hide-out is one of the many surplus and supply stores in the village. The smell of ink, paper and gunpowder fill the air, and when he takes notices of the walls he sees row upon row of specialty parchment—the kind for explosive tags. He glances across the sales floor, for the first time taking note of the girl reading a book behind the check-out counter. She's familiar to him, although in the second-hand kind of way that _everyone_ in a small village is familiar, so it only takes a moment to place her.

Twins are rare in such a small village, and Manako Inuzuka is identical to her sister Hana. Brunette and dark eyed, with a solid-looking medium frame and a languid, unselfconscious bearing he doesn't see in a lot of girls her age. She lacks the distinctive Inuzuka facial markings, which is odd considering she's the child of the leader, but somehow she manages to look just as fierce.

Kakashi occasionally has business with Hana—sometimes his ninja hounds require urgent medical care, and she's set to take over the village's veterinary practice—but he has never spoken to Manako beyond a few random, forgettable encounters. He doesn't expect this one to be any different.

Except, then his attention falls on the book she's reading.

The book which happens to be the next installment of his favourite series.

The one he has been desperately waiting on for the last six months.

"That's the latest _Icha Icha_ novel," he says.

"It is."

"It's not even supposed to be out for another month."

"And yet, here it is," Manako replies, turning a page.

"How did you get your hands on this?"

"I know a guy."

He begins to approach the counter. "Can I know a guy?"

"That depends—are you into bondage?"

Kakashi does a bit of a double-take at this, opening his mouth and then closing it again as he studies her. She and Hana were in Itachi's year, which means she can't be more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

She has to be messing with him.

Even so, he's not entirely sure what to say to that. At his silence, she finally looks up, considering him with a critical eye.

"Oh. You're him," she says, and Kakashi waits for the usual qualifier—he knows the things people whisper about him: cold-blooded, friend-killer, traitor's son. But then she adds, "You're Pakkun's pet."

" _Pet_?" he echoes, surprised and disbelieving.

"Sorry. That's how the dogs talk," she says, though she doesn't sound or look very sorry, turning her attention back to her book in a clear dismissal. "I mean to say you're his human."

He's not sure that's much better and gets the sense that she's mocking him.

"Your sister is a lot more polite than you," he says, which sounds immature and over-simplistic, but he's still a bit caught off balance and doesn't know what else to say.

She doesn't seem ruffled by the comparison at all.

"So I'm told."

Again, her words drip with dismissal, and Kakashi is inclined to take the hint. He turns back toward the shop entrance.

Except –

He turns around. "Out of curiosity—"

"No."

He frowns. "You don't even know what I'm going to ask."

"You're not getting my book."

"I'd pay you for it."

"But then it would not longer be _my_ book," she says, and then glances up, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "I'm possessive and materialistic like that."

Kakashi resists the urge to pout, but only because he is a grown-ass man and a jōnin and feared by half the shinobi world.

"Surely there's some arrangement we can come to?" he suggests, trying to sound smooth and casual and not like a slavering fanboy.

"You're that desperate for cheesy romance and long drawn-out sex?" she raises an eyebrow at him, and he feels his cheeks warm beneath his mask because _does she have to be that blunt about it?!_

"Well what's your excuse for reading it?"

"I have two X-chromosomes," she retorts, and then crosses her arms. "And didn't you hear? _Long. Drawn-out. Sex._ "

His cheeks flooding with even more colour.

"Should you really be reading that sort of thing?" he asks, a little tightly. "It's not exactly…"

"Oh, but if it was a teenaged boy it would be alright?" she counters. "Talk about double standards…"

"I never said—"

"I have just as much right to read it as you," she shoots back. "And if you think about it, it's kind of creepier when it's an old guy like you doing it."

"… _Old?"_ Kakashi demands, voice cracking a little in astonishment.

"Well, with that hair of yours," she shrugs. "Easy mistake to make." He stares at her in reply, and she smirks. "See? It's not nice to generalize about someone's age."

Kakashi decide right then that it's time to leave.

Juggling geese is suddenly a much less challenging prospect than any more absurdist conversation with this…person. He doesn't even ask about the back entrance, and is almost on the point of opening the door again when—

"I guess I could make you a deal."

Kakashi pauses, the sudden image of himself reading his beloved, long-book at the end of a tiring day. It's been _so_ long…

"I'm listening," Kakashi says, turning back.

"I need someone to field-test my specialty explosive tags," she tells him. "But Old Man Third won't let me hire a genin squad. Something about legal issues or child protection or whatever." She makes a dismissive hand gesture. "None of the chūnin are allowed to, either, ever since the last time some moron didn't read the labels and blew off a testicle." Kakashi's cheeks rapidly lose all earlier warmth. "And most jōnin are pretentious pricks that think their missions are more important than functioning equipment, so..."

Kakashi's eye twitches. "Noted."

"But I've heard you're moderately intelligent, and apparently, you're fast too, so here's what I want—you come by every so often and try out my specialty tags, then come give me feedback, and I'll hook you up with this book." Kakashi is about to say that seems like an awful lot of work for _one_ book, and then she adds, "And any others that my _contact_ sets me up with."

"You're making literature seem a lot more clandestine than it is," he accuses.

"Not all of us are elite ninjas. Some of us have to make our fun where we can," she replies. "Are you in or out?"

Kakashi turns the offer over in his head.

The whole thing sounds an awful lot like responsibility, or even worse, _accountability_ , and unless the well-being of the village is at stake, he tends to avoid both.

However, on the other hand, he's heard from others that Manako's incendiary devices are top quality, and that she doesn't limit her work to simple explosives. Which could prove useful in situations where he doesn't feel like expending effort.

And he _really_ wants to read the book.

It's telling that the only considerations he have pertain to his own laziness and guilty reading pleasures.

"Alright, it's a deal," he says.

"Good," she agrees, nodding in a businesslike fashion. "But you're still waiting until after I finish reading it."

Which causes Kakashi's shoulders to slump because _how_ did he not see that coming. He can predict the moves of enemy ninja before they even consider making them, and this girl outmaneuvered him with a single sentence.

She smirks at him, black eyes dancing. "Of course, if I didn't have to cut my break short lugging boxes around and doing actual work, I could probably finish this in the next hour…"

He shoots her an unimpressed look.

"Do you actually think I'm that desperate?"

"I think you just promised to carry out potentially dangerous field testing that could possible get you blown up just to get a _chance_ to read the book. Damn straight I think you're desperate," she declares, black eyes dancing. "So either you're really bored with your life, or really weird."

She looks him over again, and he gets the sense that this time she is actually studying him, because her eyes linger on his mask.

"Weird," she concludes, and nods to herself. "Which is good. We'll be friends." She then closes the book, holding the place with one finger and pokes another in his face. "But no sex, okay? I don't want to deal with sad puppy-dog eyes when I break your heart."

He can't help his jaw dropping at either implication.

"Now get to work. There are crates of blank scrolls in the back that need to be stocked up here," she says, going back to her reading. "And if you don't do a good job, I'm calling out spoilers."

Which is how Kakashi Hatake, elite jōnin of the Hidden Leaf, finds himself stocking shelves for the next two hours, wondering what exactly he has gotten himself into.

つづく

* * *

 _In case anyone was not aware of this (and I've mentioned it several times), Kakashi and Manako are about 9-10 years apart in age. They meet several years before the Naruto series begins and slowly build a friendship. Despite the fact that this is a universe with different age appropriate behaviours and expectations than our own (for crying out loud, they have twelve year old kids fight to the death and massacre their families), and that for the vast majority of human history age differences and relationships at younger ages have always exists, with or without consent, I have gone out of my way to ensure that nothing physical or intimate happens between the two until Manako is 18 years old (legal voting age in Japan, in many place in Japan, legal age of consent as per Tokyo's Youth Protection Law). There has been an ongoing trend across many fandoms lately to demonize any relationship with a large age-gap or where one partner is a teenager on the cusp of being legal. Interestingly enough, these same people have no problem with a 17-year-old girl being stalked by a 100-year-old vampire just because he looks like a 17-year-old boy. Go figure._

 _In laymen's terms, if you're one of those holier-than-thou, morality-police, purity-wank douchenozzles that think authors should censor their work to protect your delicate sensibilities from being exposed to stuff that happens in real life…kindly step out of my section of the sandbox and go play elsewhere._

 _This is the politest I get about it._

 _クリ_


	2. Chapter Two

**AN:** Not edited yet. Honestly, I'm just amazed I could write something this week with how brain-dead I've been feeling. Here's hoping things calm down soon so I can get back to my stories!

 **AN2:** Also, I got the opening scene from a comic I saw somewhere here on tumblr. Can't remember the artist, but if someone finds it, let me know so I can credit that person as inspiration here.

* * *

"Oh, you beautiful lady…you're amazing."

Hana Inuzuka freezes in mid-step, halfway through the door into the back room of her uncle's veterinary, wondering if she's hearing things.

"You are just _gorgeous_ ," the voice continues, warm affection colouring the words.

A frown on her face, she peeks farther into the room and then has to resist the urge to smack her palm into her forehead. Kakashi Hatake is crouched in front a small pen, where one of the Inuzuka hounds is curled up with her puppies, _congratulating the dog._

"Women all over Konoha would _literally_ kill to have you say stuff like that to them, but you reserve it for the dogs," she remarks as she wanders into the room and begins checking charts. She's only an intern, but it's generally accepted that as soon as her formal veterinary training is complete, she'll be in charge of the place.

"Dogs I get," the masked man replies, not budging from where he's scratching the mother dog behind the ears. "People are weird." The animal makes a noise of agreement, tongue lolling out in amusement, and he pats her once more before straightening up. "So, how's the patient?"

He's referring to Bull, one of his ninken, who is in the quarantine room sleeping off anesthesia from a recent procedure.

"He'll be fine," Hana says. "Uncle Kōga says the treatment was a complete success and there aren't any poisonous toxins left. But take it easy with him for a bit. No missions and plenty of rest and fluids."

"I'll tell the rest of the back the same, then."

"And I want him back here in two weeks for a follow up. No excuses."

Kakashi is notorious for being late or absent for most appointments, and she shoots him her most challenging glare. Considering she perfected it staring down three giant wolf hounds, she knows how impressive it is. Grown men have been reduced to tears at the sight of it.

But Kakashi just snorts.

"No sense in arguing, I guess. Seems like that's a theme with your family."

Hana blinks. "Huh?"

"I met your sister the other day," Kakashi says mildly. "She's…certainly a character."

"That's the nicest anyone's ever put that before," she replies, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe _unusual_ is a better descriptor," he corrects. "What made her choose demolitions over working here with you?"

Hana continues to frown at him in confusion. She's a little unsure, considering Kakashi doesn't really talk to her much beyond matters related to his ninken. He's not the type to waste words, and so small-talk seems very out of character for him. At least based on the observations of a completely objective bystander.

Eventually, she shrugs.

"She has her reasons," she says. "Let's call them philosophical differences and a stubborn streak, depending on who you ask."

"I'll take your word on that. Still, it's interesting. There aren't many Inuzuka who aren't actively part of Konoha's defensive forces, right?"

His tone is casual enough, but Hana has been a shinobi long enough to recognise even an informal interrogation. The question is…why? It's common knowledge that her twin dropped out of shinobi training after her failed Chūnin Exam. There are records of that which anyone—especially a former ANBU operative like Kakashi—could find if they looked. And he doesn't take interest in people without some actual purpose.

"It helps that she has a natural talent for being destructive," Hana says, noncommittal.

"I believe that," he says with a nod. "She gave me a few of her explosive tags to try." Hana's eyebrows shoot towards her hairline at this. "If I hadn't been as fast as I am, I'd have lost a limb."

"She _gave_ them to you?"

"Yes?"

"For _free_?"

"No. To test out for her," he says slowly, and then frowns. "But from your reaction I take it that's significant somehow?"

"For Manako, sharing explosives is kind of like giving someone a friendship bracelet," Hana informs him.

"What exactly did you do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kakashi says abruptly, suddenly straight-backed and tense. He seems alarmed; she's not sure how she knows it, because his entire face is covered, but he is.

 _Well, his hair kind of looks agitated, anyhow. Maybe that's it?_

Kakashi rubs the back of his head, almost sheepish, and edges to the door. "Anyhow. I have to check something. I'll be back tomorrow morning to pick up Bull."

"And then again two weeks to check up on him," Hana agrees.

"Right!"

He vanishes into thin air.

"Because _that_ wasn't weird at all," Hana says, making a mental note to ask Manako what that was all about the next time she sees her.

はたけ

"So, your new friend came by," Hana begins apropos of nothing. She stands in her sister's tiny kitchen, picking through a box of _yakisoba_ and trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unwashed dishes in the sink.

Manako peers at her, a mouthful of noodles spilling over her mouth like she's some kind of mutant jellyfish.

"Oo?" she mumbles, confused for a moment before her eyes light of. "Oh! A gah wih ah heh?"

She makes a demonstrative, up-and-down motion meant to mimic the masked jōnin's hair, and Hana sniggers.

"Yeah, that's the one. Though most people would recognise him just by the name." Hana watches her carefully. "Looks like you made another _wonderful_ impression on someone."

Manako swallows.

"It's what I do."

"I guess it could be worse…Thanks to you, I have a stellar reputation around here. Everyone thinks I'm the good one."

"It's not my fault you're boring."

"Better boring than misanthropic."

"You work with animals all day, you don't get to pass judgement on _my_ judgement of stupid people until you've worked in retail," Manako reminds her.

"You're the one who didn't want to go into the family business."

Her twin shoots her a single, unimpressed glare as though to remind her they are straying dangerously close to a topic that is not to be spoken of.

Hana dutifully changes the subject. "So, what do you think of him?"

"Who?"

"Kakashi."

Manako shoots Hana a funny look. "Why would I think anything of him?"

"It's not every day of the village's most prolific shinobi walk into your shop. He could be good for business. Especially if you ever want to take over the place officially."

"I doubt it. He didn't come in to buy anything, he was just avoiding someone," Manako points out. "That taijutsu master that has a thing for bodysuits, I think."

Hana sniggers. "Gai? Yeah, I can see _that_."

"That man exhausts me just existing within the same country as me," Manako shakes her head.

"You can say that again…"

"Anyway, I took pity on broom-head and let him hang out for a bit."

"And convinced him to test out your explosive tags, from what I heard," Hana remarks innocently. "That's impressive. Especially considering how famous the guy is for avoiding work. How sure are you that he's actually going to do it?"

"Pretty damn sure. It's all about knowing what people like," Manako replies easily.

"Oh, ew, do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

Hana squints at her, trying to see beyond the casual tone figure out if her sister is joking or not. Manako doesn't have the same reservations about certain behaviours as Hana does; she's like Kiba and their mother in that respect. At the same time, she sets high standards for the people she gets close to.

 _And if she's looking at this guy as friend material…_

Hana chooses to tread carefully. Manako tends to be very guarded about her relationships, and even alluding to any serious interest in another person, whether it be a friend or something more, might cause her to torpedo that new relationship.

 _Especially since what happened with Izumi._

Sadness creeps over Hana. She was never as close to the Uchiha girl as Manako was—they weren't teammates, after all—but they were peers at the Academy. What happened to her was horrible.

Since then, Manako has been even pricklier than she was growing up, utterly isolated from everyone except Hana and Kiba.

 _But if she's showing even this little bit of interest in being friends with someone? Even someone as weird as Kakashi Hatake?_

Hana considers the very odd situation for a moment, and then nods to herself.

 _That settles it. Jōnin or not, the man has the emotional maturity of a fourteen-year-old boy, so at least they'd be on the same level, mentally. And he's trained to deal with difficult cases, right? Being friends with Manako shouldn't be too difficult to him._

Kakashi's hypothetical feelings on the matter don't factor into it, of course. Hana has a duty as the older sister to look out for her younger siblings.

Even if one of them is only three minutes younger.

"Well…as long as it wasn't anything _too_ weird," Hana muses out loud, keeping an eye on her sister's reactions. "I mean, it's hard to tell with that mask of his, but he doesn't look like he has much fun otherwise."

"Nah," Manako dismisses, waving her chopsticks. "He gets along with dogs. Dogs are fun. And he reads. So he probably has some _vague_ idea about fun."

"Things are so simple for you, aren't they?"

"Life is way too complicated as it is. Keeping things simple keeps them real."

"We're shinobi, everything's pretty real."

"Speak for yourself. Proud dropout here. Maybe that's why I don't have to torture myself with in-depth philosophical issues."

"At least not until the next family dinner."

Manako snorts in annoyance.

They eat in silence for a bit.

"They tell stories about him, you know," Hana says after a while, in a quieter and less jokin tone now. "The things he's done…what he's seen…"

"Eh, I bet he's just as hoity-toity as any other jōnin," Manako dismisses. "Though, he's got some questionable reading preferences, so maybe not _that_ stuck-up."

"How do you know what he reads?" Hana asks, not so innocently.

"Because I'm blackmailing him to test out my equipment. Why the hell else do you think I'd give him free explosives?"

"Manako!"

"Well, it's not exactly blackmail," Manako considers. "It was more withholding a book he wanted to read. But then again, I did threaten him with spoilers, so maybe blackmail _is_ the right way to put it."

"I don't know whether to be disappointed in you for blackmailing an elite shinobi, or to be disappointed in _him_ for his terrible taste in literature. Especially if he's borrowing something from _you._ "

"Don't pretend like you've never read a romance novel in your life."

"Romance, yes, soft-core pornography? Not really."

"Prude."

"Pervert."

"Bitch."

"Assface."

"You realise we're twins, right? You just insulted yourself."

"It depends on the ass," Hana sniffs. "Mine is nicer than yours."

"Oh, screw that!" Manako cries, tossing her unfinished yakisoba on the counter and twisting to point at her posterior. "See this? This is gorgeous. It's got all that padding that _you've_ trained away."

"So, what you're saying is…you have a fat ass."

Her sister growls and lunges at her.

つづく

* * *

 _Yes, I know it wasn't terribly shippy, but I did warn you all that Kakashi and Manako's relationship is really slow burn. It takes place over the course of years, and barring the minor failure of the Bechdel test in this chapter, neither character really thinks overly much about the other at this point in time._

 _Also, I realised that I've never really spent much time on Hana before, barring that one chapter in Unplanned. And I've never written her and Manako together, and I figure it's time. Also, everyone thinks Hana is the good one…when she is clearly much more conniving than her sister, hee hee._

 _Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!_

 _クリ_


	3. Chapter Three

AN: Not edited yet. But it's been written, which is half the battle :D

* * *

Manako Inuzuka sits cross-legged on the glass counter of the surplus shop, scowling down at the week's ledger. She's not a fan of numbers or mathematics at all, but even she can see that something is not quite adding up.

Which is bad, because when the numbers don't add up, she gets the blame for it and ends up taking a pay cut somewhere.

 _And I already practically live on cup-ramen. If I eat any more of it, I'm gonna turn into that Uzumaki kid..._

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?!" a familiar voice demands, and Saburō Izumo hobbles in from the backroom, wrinkled face pulled tight in disapproval. Manako's boss is a short, skinny old man with threadbare, iron grey hair that sticks out in every direction, and hands permanently stained and scarred from making explosives.

His favourite pastime is the glare at potential customers who linger in the shop without buying anything. When he's in a particularly overbearing mood, he puts on a set of thick, round pince-nez glasses to magnify his unimpressed stare.

Since he's not wearing them now, Manako decides he's just in a complaining mood and not actually angry. She returns her attention to the ledger.

"How many times do I say? I don't want your backside smudging up the display!" he scolds. "And what happens when you break the glass? You're gonna die a horrible, agonizing death from blood loss, then I have to find replacement. The paperwork!"

"Relax, old man, I've got enough training to know how to channel chakra to my ass, it won't break the glass," Manako retorts, not looking up.

"Ungrateful whelp…No respect for your elders…"

She notices something out of the corner of her eye, and upon re-reading a line of numbers, smirks in triumph—she's figured out why the numbers don't look right.

"You've overpriced the gunpowder again," Manako points out. "No one's going to buy it here when down the street they're practically giving it away."

"They're practically giving it away because it is cheap imitation," Saburō harrumphs, striding over to tap the book in her hand. "This? This is secret recipe. Passed down to me by my father, who got it from _his_ father, and so on for many generations of—"

"Important people who did important things and had no fun," Manako cuts him off. "You say this every time, but I'm the one who has to look at the books, and the profit margin ain't ever as high as you think it is."

"Profit is profit. And if it's more than what that old fishwife across town is making, that's enough."

"That…isn't she _your_ wife?"

"And I love her dearly," Saburō says, tapping his heart with his fist. "But home is home and business is business and I will blow her quaint little stall out of the water."

"Freaky old fool," Manako says, unable to hold back a smile. "Fine. But you're still getting ripped off by the guys selling you the powder. I can hook you up with better quality stuff, for much cheaper, if you'd just—"

"Oi!" he scowls at her over his glasses. "This legitimate business. None of your questionable connections here! At least wait until I'm dead and gone and with a nice memorial stone. Then you can run this place like the black market for all I care. But until then—" he shakes a finger at her, "—we are wholesome, family store!"

"Whose financial model is built around selling tools that kill people, with a side goal of destroying your wife's business," Manako deadpans.

"Exactly."

She sighs and returns her attention to the books. "We're out of the specialty _metsubushi_. Really popular with all those new Academy students that figure they should whip out the weapons for every little schoolyard fight. We should restock and raise the price. Ten percent?"

"Fifteen. Once the injuries start, sales will go down. Strike while the iron's hot," Saburō says gleefully.

 _And people say_ I'm _devious_ , Manako thinks with a snort. "There were a bunch of kids eyeing the Exploding Spheres, too. We should institute a strict 'chūnin and older' policy, or we're going to have Old Man Third after us about responsible selling."

"Hmph. We'll put up a sign. When you're done with those, come in back, we can get started on the orders for tomorrow."

"You said I could take the afternoon off," Manako reminds him.

"Why?"

"Because I asked for it?"

"That doesn't sound like me."

"I know. That's why when you said it, I checked to make sure you weren't an imposter using _Henge_ and then made you sign a release form?" she prompts, producing a small, crinkled paper written on the back of a receipt.

Saburō leans in and studies it, as if trying to detect a forgery. "I…suppose this seems in order."

"Oh, shut up, you know you said I could. You complained all day about it," Manako rolls her eyes.

"Well, I don't see why you need to go early. What's more important than making sure you're well prepared for tomorrow's business?"

"I have a date."

"So?"

"So, I haven't been out in a while and need a break."

"Why?"

Manako rolls her eyes. "Because young people—which, I'm pretty sure you used to be a long, long, _long—"_

 _"Oi!"_

 _"_ —time ago, like to go out and have fun sometimes."

"Young people didn't have fun when I was your age. They were too busy fighting. And working. And being respectful."

"Good thing we live now, and not then."

"Hmph. It's not that grocery boy again?" Saburō wants to know. "He's not good enough for you."

"Thanks, and no," Manako retorts with false modesty. "It's the girl at the bakery."

He blinks. "The one who looks like Princess Gale?"

"Exactly."

"Feh. That won't end well," Saburō shakes his head.

Manako crosses her arms and juts her chin out in challenge. "Are you saying she's out of my league?"

"I say she's the sort to make noise and get a person in trouble. And you—you're the type that gets in trouble." He pauses. "And yes. She's out of your league."

"Gee, thanks…"

"Maybe if you were more respectful girl…"

"Wrong Inuzuka."

"You should ask that girl at that ramen stand. She's much politer. Or one of those boys who guard the city gate."

"Pretty sure those two are spoken for," Manako replies, amused. "And Ayame doesn't like girls."

"Pity. She could bring us lunch if she visited you."

"I love how my dating life is all about what you can get out of it…"

"I'm old. All that's left is to live life vicariously through you. Even though you have terrible judgement."

"Says the man getting ready to start a price war with his wife. I hope she makes you sleep on the couch."

Saburō waves that off.

"Very well. Finish the books and you can go. _I_ will go and prepare for tomorrow. All alone. Even though I have such terrible arthritis in my fingers these days," he sighs loudly, heading into the back room.

"You're not guilting me out of the first afternoon off I've had in a month," Manako calls after him.

"You'll feel bad when my hands cramp up and I can't work anymore, and we lose the store," he calls back. "Or at least when it turns out I'm right about that girl. Then you'll say, 'oh, I wish I had listened to Uncle Saburō, and stayed to do my work, because now I still have money and my heart isn't broken'."

"Try not to inhale anymore of the ingredients back there!" Manako shouts back, but he either doesn't hear it or chooses to ignore it.

 _Crotchety old bugger_ , she thinks fondly as she goes back to the finances. It doesn't take her long to finish checking the last tallies up, but just as she makes the final calculations, the door opens and closes. A beat later, her nose twitches at a familiar scent garlic, toad oil and sake—all barely hidden under a layer of artificial fragrance.

 _Someone's been to an onsen recently_ , she thinks as a figure takes up residence in front of her. Closing the store ledgers, Manako leans forward, propping her chin on her palm to regard the tall, white-haired man before her.

"Hey there, Manako," he drawls, the smile on his face sly despite how he shows all his teeth. "Have you turned eighteen yet?"

"Hey, Jiraiya," she replies with an equally sly smile. "Have you contracted syphilis yet?"

The sage's expression falls flat and he pouts at her. "You are a very unpleasant young woman."

"And you're a pervert who should be sterilized for the good of womankind." She swivels around, hopping behind the counter. "And yet you're a legend. The universe is funny like that. Nice sunglasses, by the way. Is that really how you sneak around the continent?"

"Hmph. Sunglasses are inconspicuous."

"You can tuck your hair into your belt. Inconspicuous left the equation about thirty years ago."

"Well, inconspicuous is overrated anyway. How else would I attract the attention of lovely ladies looking for love?" he smarms.

Manako wrinkles her nose.

"Gross, but points for the alliteration," she says. "Are all the legendary Sannin as messed up as you?"

"Trust me, I have the least baggage," Jiraiya grins, pretending to shoot two 'finger guns' at her.

"I don't think you should sound so proud of that."

"Well, you're charming as ever," he sighs. "Is your boss in?"

"I might be convinced to go find him for you if you offered the right incentive."

"How about because it's your job?"

"My job is to mind the front counter. If I go in back, how do I know you won't steal something?"

Jiraiya frowns. "Would you just go and get the old man?"

"In a minute. You owe me something first."

"Yeah, yeah…" he digs into his pocket and brings out a thick scroll. "Here are all my recommendations. Your devices work surprisingly well, and I'd be keen to bring a few more out with me."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. The problem is there's still no market for them in the big cities. The population in outskirts villages and the farmlands think they're great, though. The farther out of the way, the more they like them."

"Really?" Manako asks, brightening.

"Problem is, they can't afford your asking price. So, unless you're willing to donate a bunch just for exposure…"

"I can't," she protests. "They cost most of my paycheck to make!"

"Eh." Jiraiya shrugs.

"Wait a minute—you mean you didn't _sell_ any? I didn't give those to you for charity, you old badger!"

"Hey, watch the name calling! And what are you getting your nose all bent out of joint? You're really angry I'm offering your product to people in need?"

"Well—no, but—I still gotta eat!"

"Then figure out a solution. Find a way to make them out of cheaper materials or something," Jiraiya shrugs.

"Or people could just stop being terrible," Manako grumbles.

"Then we'd all be out of a job," Jiraiya says sagely, still digging into his pack. "But, failed business ventures aside, I'm not coming to you empty handed." He drags out half a dozen paperbacks with lurid covers. "Here! The latest wonders from the distant lands."

Manako lets out an undignified squeal that turns into rather maniacal laughter; luckily, no one is there to hear except Jiraiya. "Gimme!"

"Two of those are signed. I met the authors at a writer's retreat in Kumo. Both ladies were…heh…more than happy to personalise those."

Manako shoots him a suspicious look. "There aren't any…stains I need to worry about on these, are there?"

"Don't be crude, they're in their original packaging!" Jiraiya yelps.

"Well, I just want to be sure," Manako replies. "I'm not the only one reading this stuff, you know. I've got a friend who might want to read them after me, and I don't want to explain why he might want to use gloves while handling them... He's reading your latest now, though it's taking him _forever_."

"Hey, that was just for you," Jiraiya complains. "If my publisher finds out your sharing my work before it's even published yet…"

"Relax—the guy's a jōnin. If he can be trusted with Konoha's secrets, I doubt he'll spill the ending of the latest _Icha Icha_ ," she dismisses.

"Better not," Jiraiya mutters.

"I've got a few things to say about that ending, though," Manako goes on.

"Later. I'm on official business, which means your constructive criticism will have to wait."

There's something in his tone that informs her the time for joking is past. While Manako has never been one for blind respect, she also knows when it's best to let a joke go.

"He's in the back room."

Jiraiya salutes and heads in back. "Stay weird, kid."

"Not a problem," Manako says, studying her stack of new books.

She suddenly has a dilemma in front of her.

 _Kimiko wouldn't be_ that _angry if I cancelled, right?_

 _つづく_

* * *

 _I had fun with this chapter. It's been a while since I got to write snappy dialogue, and writing Manako I felt like I was channelling myself. I wish I had a boss like she has, though…but hey, we got to see her at work, which is always fun ^_^_

 _And yes, in case you missed the obvious, Manako is bisexual (like pretty much all my original characters, because we don't have enough damn representation!) and always has been, from when I first created her ( I have put hints about that in a few other fics...though I don't know if anyone caught them ^_^)_

 _Anyhow, hopefully this was a nice, lite bit of reading for you guys. It's been so long since I had a moment to write anything, so I figured I'd start with light and humorous before I get back into the serious stuff. Next chapter we'll see Kakashi again ? and get a little more Kakashi/Manako action. I just wanted to establish that they have entire lives without the other one in it before getting them into an acquaintanceship/friendship/romance._

 _Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated!_

 _クリ_


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** I know I said I'm focussing my attentions on _An Inch of Gold_ (and I am-everyday outlining a bit more!), but I had an idea for this chapter, and a lot of people have said they wanted to see some more Kakashi/Manako interactions, so…voila. More Kakashi not knowing how do the people thing, and more Manako being zen.

* * *

Kakashi does not "avoid" people.

Even though his days are no longer filled with same high-risk, top secret missions he carried out while part of ANBU, there is always some errand that needs doing or that "one more thing" he just can't put off.

So, it has nothing to do with avoiding such troubling words _friendship_ that has him spending the next two weeks outside of the village. And if Hana Inuzuka doesn't bring up anything about their brief conversation related to her sister during Bull's next veterinary appointment, well why would she? It was just a passing commentary and he doesn't intend to dwell on it.

Kakashi won't say he's relieved.

Relief would imply he there was something bothering him. Which there isn't.

Because he doesn't have time for friendships. He tolerates Gai's presence in his life because the taijutsu master is his self-proclaimed rival—and there is literally no way that Kakashi has discovered to make him leave him alone. And he's a fellow shinobi, so he knows the risks to any type of personal connection to other people.

Especially civilians.

Kakashi has a way of doing things, and it's working _fine_ for him. All things considered, his life is what most people aspire for. He is in peak physical condition, is respected in the community, has a steady pay check, and on the occasions when he wants it, has no problem finding sexual partners that, like him, aren't looking for anything beyond the night.

The only vice he really has is his choice of reading material, and honestly, he doesn't consider that _really_ a vice. Some people create fantasy sports teams and some people, apparently, juggle geese. His hobbies don't hurt anyone (or any animal), and they occupy the twenty-five percent of his life not spent remembering the loved ones who died or waiting for that eventual mission which will get him killed.

For a shinobi, and especially one that has dealt with so much, he thinks he lives a pretty balanced life.

A civilian just wouldn't get that.

And so Kakashi is resolute and confident in his life choices and definitely not _avoiding_ anyone.

He has trouble repeating that mantra to himself the day he returns from a short reconnaissance mission and stumbles upon the bewildering sight of Manako climbing a tree.

His tree.

The one that has the perfect amount of shade and is in an optimal location to benefit from the cool air off the river.

Granted, random tree-climbing is not a rare sight here. Most genin spend their early missions clambering up trees after stray pets or learning to survey their surroundings without being noticed. And Konohagakure _does_ mean village hidden in the leaves, so it stands to reason its inhabitants should know how to do that.

But Manako is not trying to be stealthy or quiet and Kakashi can't see any lost animals anywhere.

And it's still _his_ tree.

Which might be the reason he coughs to announce his presence. She glances down at him, one arm wrapped around the lowest tree branch, and her foot pressed in the too-small groove of the trunk. They blink at each other.

"Yes…?" she drawls after a beat.

"…What are you doing?"

Her eyebrows go up, and she glances up at the tree branch, and then at him. "Seriously? Are you blind?"

"No." Next to the members of the Hyūga clan, he has the best eyesight in the village, and probably knows that. It's just a way of meeting an inane question with an equally inane rejoinder. He feels a glimmer of mounting respect at that, even if her answer doesn't exactly clarify anything. He tilts his head to one side, still frowning at her hold on the tree, and rather than elaborating on _obvious_ question, he instead asks, "Why?"

"Because," she replies with a grunt, finally getting enough of a grip with her foot to kick off the trunk and swing her leg up around the branch. "This is the most comfortable spot. And it's the best place to enjoy the breeze. The _perfect_ place to read."

 _I'm aware_ , he wants to say, but then that might lead into a conversation about how he knows this, and possibly lay the groundwork for him to lay some bizarre ownership to the tree. Which he won't admit, he has a childish inclination to do just that.

There are some things that should be sacred, and a man's… _reading space_ is one of them.

But she's not to know that and so instead, he asks, "Why don't you just walk up?"

He's rather sure that she has at least that much training, drop-out or not.

Manako gives him a look like he's dribbled on his shirt. "That defeats the purpose."

"The purpose of what?"

"When was the last time you climbed a tree without using chakra?" she deflects.

Kakashi begins to reply, and then pauses when he realises he actually can't remember. Trying to control his frown, he asks, "What does that matter?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Twice her hands slip, and she grumbles at the scrapes and splinters, before performing a complicated wiggle to inch herself up around. She straddles the branch for a moment, both feet hanging down and panting, but then she crawls toward the dip where branch meets trunk and brings out a paperback.

Clear dismissal.

Every braincell in Kakashi's head tells him to just keep walking after that. This girl is, to put it bluntly, _weird_. But it sort of bothers him that he can't remember the last time he climbed a tree under his own power. And really, it's a skill that a shinobi ought to have, especially if in a situation where chakra is rendered null or if he's too weak to use it.

Granted, if he's too weak to call upon his chakra, he's probably too weak to climb a tree, but somehow that makes him more intent on proving he can do it.

It takes him longer than he expects, but then he is sitting on the branch several feet away from her, feeling a little ridiculous.

"I still don't get it," he tells her bluntly.

She laughs at that, fixing him with an amused stare. "There was no existential reason, you know. I just wanted to see if I could get you to do it." She pretends to consider him. "I never would have taken you for the type to cave to peer pressure."

"I'm not. You're a bad influence on me."

"Oh, sure, blame me for your issues."

He frowns at that.

"Well, this has been an interesting experiment," he says, getting to his feet and preparing to jump down from the tree. As he is moving, something in his pack digs into his right hip, and he suddenly remembers the paperback he's been carrying around for two weeks.

Which he's been meaning to return to her, but just kept getting to busy to do.

He digs it out and moves toward her, balancing easily on the branch, and holds out the _Icha Icha_ book he has committed to memory. "You probably want this back."

Manako takes the book and flashes him a mischievous grin. "Was it everything you expected it to be? I'm _so_ glad it didn't turn into a love triangle story. I was a little worried at the beginning, but then that trope got _completely_ subverted, right? And, personally, I think the author describes breasts in way too much detail, but the sex-scene in the middle was _hot_."

Warmth floods Kakashi's cheeks, and he's very glad of his mask right then, because this is _not_ exactly a conversation he pictured having with anyone before. Yes, he reads romance novels, and yes, it's a relatively well-known quirk of his, but no one has ever tried to _talk_ to him about it.

So, he decides to change the subject, which is difficult at first, since he doesn't actually know anything about her. Besides sharing a taste for romance novels, the only thing he knows about her is she likes to blow things up.

There's not exactly a polite or smooth segue from talking about romance novels to demolition, and so he doesn't try for one.

"Your projectile tags need a delay, and the adhesive grenades leak. You might want to add a secondary charge to your flash bombs to ensure lingering side effects for anyone who tries to disarm it."

She blinks at the abrupt change of subject, and then snorts.

"Well it _took you long enough_ ," Manako complains. "I thought I'd have grey hair by the time you finally got back to me!" She side-eyes him and then drawls, "Weeeell, maybe not as much as you have, Scarecrow. But still."

His mouth firms at the slight mocking of his name, but he shrugs it off. It doesn't matter what she says, because he is leaving. Before he can, though, she digs for something in her pocket and whips it through the air at him. "Here. I bet this is to your tastes, too."

Out of reflex he catches it: another paperback.

"No—" he begins, because accepting another book will necessitate a future conversation with her.

"Jiraiya recommends it," she says, cutting him off, and the sound of his favourite author's name gives him momentary pause. "Apparently he got inspiration for _Benibara_ in the _Icha Icha_ series from the main female character in this book."

Despite his intentions, Kakashi's eyes flick toward the lurid cover of the paperback.

Which…well, _Benibara_ is his favourite character in the series. She's gutsy and independent, but in a very human and relatable way, unlike a lot of the heroines he's come across in his perusal of romantic and erotic literature. And she has flaws and struggles that don't magically resolve themselves at the end of the book, like her idealism and tendency to let her emotions guide her choices, which leads to trouble. And though she's unfailingly loyal to _Isha_ , she also doesn't balk from calling him on his arrogance.

But Kakashi shakes his head. Just because the character _might_ be similar isn't enough for him to get invested—

Manako is speaking again. "It's about samurai on two sides of a war who fall in love—"

"That's completely cliché," he blurts out before he can stop himself.

"—but it takes place in space. And there are pirates."

"That sounds ridiculous."

And intriguing.

"You _know_ you want to _read_ it," she goads in a sing-song voice. "If you didn't want to, you'd have dropped it by now."

Kakashi stares down at the book in his hand, and the woman in samurai armour passionately embracing a good-looking man, also in full regalia, while the vast stars in the sky stretch out behind them.

Because _no_ , he is _not_ going to give in.

Accepting a book exchange once is an anomaly, a transaction, a simple form of etiquette. But _twice_ …

Twice is the beginning of a pattern. And he has done his best to avoid any kind of pattern for years now, especially in the form of relationships—

"Oh, and take these—" Again Manako is tossing something to him, and he again catches them by reflex. A package of explosive tags, with an electric purple script, and of a different shape than the ones he used before. "Let me know how wide the blast radius is, because the recipe for these ones is tricky. If I'm even a _little_ off my measurements it won't be controllable, so I need to know for sure."

And she goes back to her book, as if it's just expected he'll take the book and the explosives and be on his way.

Kakashi is at a loss.

He should simply take off, leaving the objects she's given him behind. He doesn't owe her an explanation or justification, or even a polite rejection. And from the look of her, she probably wouldn't care one way or the other.

And yet…

Her take-it-or-leave-it attitude is refreshing.

Since leaving ANBU, everyone in his life is always trying to _handle_ him. Lord Third gives him missions he thinks will help Kakashi recover parts of himself he lost long ago, and Gai tries to prevent him from sinking into total monotony by coming up with newer and more ridiculous challenges. Kurenai keeps making suggestions about women he might want to date, Asuma watches him with those too-knowing eyes like he's waiting for Kakashi to open up, Yugao skirts around conversation topics that he might find uncomfortable, Yamato is always so formal with him, as if being less so will erase what has happened in the past—

Kakashi knows it's all done out of the goodness of their hearts because at the end of the day he knows these people care about it.

But no one has ever just let him _be_. Not without some expectation attached to it, some need to gloss over the darkest parts of him, to fix him. When Kakashi learned a long time ago that there is never going to be a fix for what he's endured.

There is no cure. There's just living with it.

He wonders how a teenaged drop-out figured that out and hardened shinobi haven't.

Perhaps that's why Kakashi finds himself slowly sitting back down on the tree branch and flipping open the cover of the paperback.

"I thought you were leaving?" Manako asks, not looking up from her book.

"I'm just reading the first page," he replies, elaborately casual. "If it's terrible, I won't have to come back across to town to give it back to you."

" _Mm_ -hm."

But she doesn't comment on the fact he doesn't leave his spot for the next hour.

Which he decides, is another point in her favour.

Favour for what, he's not entirely sure, anymore than he knows when he started keeping a running tally.

つづく

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating—and if you enjoy my writing, check out my original stories! You can find info on that on my tumblr Typewriter Ninjutsu._

 _栗_


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Note:** I live for Kakashi and Gai bromance. And Gai taking everything way too seriously to the point of ridiculousness. Not edited.

* * *

Fall is a glorious season, despite being diametrically opposed to his beloved spring, because for every bit of gold and red that appears in the trees surrounding Konoha, Gai sets himself to coming up with more elaborate and obscure challenges.

Since their first competitions as children, Kakashi has always gone along with them with an air of duty, as if it were a ritual that must be performed. And Gai actually likes that kind of thinking.

It gives it importance. A _sacredness_. A bond between two men, brothers not by blood but by the driving spirit of youth that is both burden and gift to them both. Something to fall back on in hard times because it is constant and unchanging.

But recently…

Recently there is something off about Kakashi.

His movements are easier—less automatic movement and less detached. On rare occasions Gai imagines that he sees something like enjoyment there.

The whole thing is suspicious, and he tells Asuma and Kurenai just that over lunch one day.

"He probably just found a relaxing hobby in his spare time," Asuma points out easily, finishing a pork skewer with the casualness of a man whose thoughts are not overburdened with suspicion or absolute knowledge that something in the universe is _off_.

"Or maybe he has a secret girlfriend," Kurenai suggests, in her wonderfully innocent way. She's a romantic, which Gai would normally appreciate and speculate with her about, but he _knows_ Kakashi, and it would never be anything so mundane.

"Chiseled men like us don't have time for romance," Gai dismisses. "It would ruin our laboriously constructed aesthetic and get in the way of our youthful pursuits! No, there is something even more dire happening here, something I must uncover right away!" He adopts a pensive position. "What could possibly cause him to keep something from me? We have always lived by a code of honesty, with nary a secret between us! It must be something truly horrible…but what?"

He contemplates in silence. What could be so horrible to cause Kakashi to change his routine? To not mention things to Gai?

"Well…good luck figuring that out," Asuma says and makes as if to stand up. "We should probably be getting back to—"

"Ah ha!" Gai shouts, making Kurenai jump. Something has occurred to him, something horrific. No, worse than horrific.

 _The ultimate travesty!_

"I know what it is." Gai jumps to his feet, clenching his feet. "Don't you see? It is so much _worse_ than hobbies or women!"

Kurenai mouths the word 'worse' with a confused look on her face, innocent soul that she is, not realising that there could possibly be worse things than being young stallions on the prowl.

(It's a burden, really.)

Adopting a dynamic pose, Gai announces, "Kakashi has found himself a new Eternal Rival!"

Silence reigns.

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Asuma asks, corner of his mouth twitching.

"He said he had an errand to run."

"So?"

"On his birthday."

"And?"

"And Kakashi never runs errands on his birthday!" Gai declares in triumph. "He is always on a mission, or requests one, even though every year I spend hours baking him the most stupendous of birthday cakes!"

"Doesn't Kakashi not like sweets?" Kurenai asks.

"Hah! As if I would not know something so integral to my old friend's personality!" Gai barks, but mentally kicks himself, because maybe that's why Kakashi always finds a reason not to eat his baking. "Regardless, his strange behaviour is not limited to his birthday!" He pauses for dramatic effect, waiting for his companions to ask how he knows this, but when they don't he continues. "When he's not on a mission, he's usually at the cemetery, as you know. And though I would never interrupt him in his daily contemplations, I've been watching him from a distance, and he's not there today."

Neither of them look particularly convinced by this.

Kurenai is bemused. "Are you sure you're not overreacting a bit?"

"There is no such thing as an overreaction! Emotion flows in whatever quantity that it must, especially in response to such horrible news!" Gai insists. "This must not stand!" He clenches a fist in front of him. "I will track him down and confront him!"

"Kakashi?"

"No! The cretin who would be his new Eternal Rival! And I will test him—or her." Because it's entirely conceivable it could be a woman. Gai is an equal opportunist, of course. "And I will decide that individual's worthiness!"

"Wait," Asuma says slowly. "You're going to see if this person—who may or may not exist—is good enough to be Kakashi's rival?"

"Precisely! Farewell, my dear friends, I have work to do!"

"Gai—"

"Wait—!"

But he is long gone, his mind filled with the importance of his new mission.

Gai spends the next few days following Kakashi surreptitiously around the village. Walking home from the memorial stone, shopping for groceries, stopping into the surplus supply store, catching a nap in his apartment—

Maddeningly, he after a week, he finds no evidence of what has caused Kakashi's suspicious change in temperament. In fact, everything is so mind-numbingly _normal_ that he wonders if the other man isn't playing him for a fool.

At first Kakashi doesn't seem to notice him, but one day he asks him what he's doing.

"You know what I'm doing," Gai tells him with a knowing look of reproach. "And you may think you're hiding it well, but I'll figure out who it is!"

"Who who is?"

"You know who I'm talking about!"

And he vanishes as mysteriously as he can, if only to show Kakashi that he isn't fooled one bit.

It takes him longer than he would like to admit realising that the difference in Kakashi's behaviour stems from something right under his nose.

The supply shop. The one known around Konoha for the quality of its explosives.

Kakashi has only ever bought his tools from one of the speciality shops in Konoha, the best kunai and shuriken, forged by a master smith that has been around since before Kakashi's father died.

This supply shop, though, is a new factor. Especially since Kakashi is not one to rely too much on explosives, what with his genius abilities and the Sharingan.

So the rival must be there!

Without any further thought, Gai bursts into the supply shop one day, knees bent and arms out in preparation for battle.

 _"Alright, fiend!"_ he shouts, pointing a finger directly in front of him. "Now is the time to confess what you've done! And let me tell you, I will not let you take him from me so easily, for there is only _one_ Sublime Green Beast of Prey worthy of being his rival and that is _I_! Maito Gai!"

An elderly shopkeeper blinks at him, pausing in the act of sweeping up the room. Behind the counter, a teenaged girl who looks vaguely familiar to him gapes at him, jaw opening around a badly chewed pen.

The old man turns to the girl and jerks his head in Gai's direction, "He another one of yours?"

"No," the girl replies mildly.

"Oh. Well, I was going to say—big improvement over the baker's girl."

"You're just saying that because his teeth are shiny."

"Good teeth are important."

"I guess you'd think so, since you barely have any," the girl deadpans, and then addresses Gai. "So what was it you wanted again? Maybe try plain Japanese this time."

"I want to know which one of you believes your skill and fortitude of youth is sufficient to become Kakashi's rival!" Gai demands. "Step forward and I will decide your worthiness."

They continue to stare at him.

"Oh…" the girl says after a moment, eyes lighting with dawning comprehension. "You're his guy then, right?"

"Yes! Yes, I am his Gai," he agrees, cheered that she seems to understand exactly what all this is about. Then a cloud of depression looms over him and he sighs. "However, perhaps not for much longer. If my oldest friend and rival seeks another to challenge him…perhaps my days as his Gai are numbered."

"That's harsh," the girl tells him sympathetically, her lips twitching oddly. Probably empathizing with his misery is causing her to hold back trembling lips, which he understands. She reaches beneath the counter and then slides something across the glass display. "Here—guaranteed to make you feel better, as long as you don't have an allergy to it like I do."

"Why are you giving him my chocolate?" the old man demands. "That's for me so I don't faint from low blood sugar while measuring gunpowder and blow us all to smithereens!"

"Your wife specifically packs you fruit every day for that," the girl retorts.

"Pah! You know that's probably poison. Can't trust anything from that woman."

"Then why are you still married?"

"Habit."

Gai glances down at the large bar of chocolate and is touched at the kindness of the gesture. It seems this individual is a kindred spirit! But then he shakes his head, because she could still be Kakashi's New Rival.

"Your attempts to distract me from my mission are futile!" he insists. "I will have satisfaction from you before I let you take him!"

The old man sighs and turns toward a nearby door. "If anyone needs me, I will be in backroom."

"Hah! You have chosen wisely, old sage!" Gai says. "I would not wish to face me either!"

The shopkeeper stares at him a second later, and then he disappears, muttering something unintelligible.

"Right, I think you have a few of your wires crossed," the girl tells him, leaning forward with her hands on the counter. "I'm not taking Kakashi anywhere. Neither is the old man, unless he's secretly a lot less uptight than I always figured he was. So, unless you're here to buy thing that go boom, I can't help you. Except, you know—" She prods the chocolate bar a few inches closer to him, "—offering comfort food. I don't do _actual_ comfort, because I think my sister absorbed all of that in the womb, but…"

The words strike a memory for him, and he peers at her more closely. Ah, yes, now he knows who she is. Manako Inuzuka. Hana Inuzuka's sister; he was assigned a few missions with the latter before she started training full-time as a veterinarian. He sees her training with the Konoha reserve force every now and again. The sister, though…

 _Right. I remember her match in the chūnin exams. That was…unpleasant._

She's a civilian now. Which means she wouldn't have the skill necessary to become Kakashi's rival.

His righteous anger vanishing instantly, Gai sweeps into a bow. "I apologise for my manly and impulsive entry into your establishment. I thought I had just cause, but that's no excuse for Konoha's Noble Gentleman to burst in and hurl accusations."

"Right…" Manako intones, pursing her lips, like she's debating whether to say something or not. After a beat, she remarks, "It sounds like there's some serious communication issues between you and your…rival."

"Nonsense! Kakashi has always been taciturn. It's a part of his cool image," Gai dismisses.

"Yeah, but if there's something going on that's got you chasing him around town and accusing people of affecting your rivalry—er, rivalship? Rivalry with benefits?" She frowns. "Frivalry?" She shakes her head. "Anyway, if you're thinking he's replacing you, maybe you should talk to him."

"Kakashi, like myself, is a master of deflection," Gai scoffs. "Besides, ours is a relationship of action, not words."

"Oh, really?" Manako asks, leaning forward. "Do tell."

Which is how Gai finds himself thusly pouring his manly heart out to the young shopkeeper over the next hour. By the time Kakashi enters the shop an hour later, Gai has devoured the chocolate bar and used up two boxes of tissues while bearing his heart.

Kakashi freezes in the doorway. "Gai? What are you doing here?"

"I am baring my soul to a kindred spirit," Gai tells him earnestly. "Since there are certain people in my life that are emotionally unavailable and inconsiderate toward longstanding frivalship."

"Fr…frivalship?" Kakashi echoes, clearly not catching on. Honestly, and everyone says _he's_ the genius.

"It's a portmanteau," Gai informs him.

"I'd…I'd gathered." He shoots Manako a questioning look. "What's going on here?"

"What's going on is you're behaving like a jerk, Scarecrow," she replies, adopting a scolding expression. "Don't you know you're not supposed to toy with people's emotions that way?"

Kakashi blinks at this, stares at her, then at Gai, and then back at her. Something passes across his face, because the visible skin of his face suddenly goes red and he stutters in near panic, "N-no, wait—h-hold on! What exactly are you trying to imply here?"

"Exactly what it seems!" Gai declares. "She too has come to see the abominable way you have treated me despite our relationship, such that you haven't even been honest with me about how you're spending your time."

"Shocking," Manako agrees, shaking her head in disappointment. "Absolutely shameful, Kakashi. You should apologise."

"For _what_?" he wants to know.

"You know what you did," she informs him, and Gai nods because _finally_ someone is on his side.

Kakashi repeats his questioning glances from earlier—from Manako to Gai and back again—and then sighs. "Is there any possible way that you two could just…forget you ever met each other?"

"Not a chance," Manako tells him with wolfish smile.

Whatever Kakashi intends to say to that, Gai cuts off, grabbing hold of him and then hauling Manako over to him as well. He squeezes them both tightly to him, not noticing both of them gasping for breath in his grasp.

"New and renewed friendship!" he declares. "Such is the indomitable spirit of _youth!"_

つづく

* * *

 _There can be no Kakashi/Manako relationship unless Gai knows and approves. We all know this._

 _I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating—and if you enjoy my writing, check out my tumblr for more information about my original stuff !_

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	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Note:** _In which we learn that under all that sass, Manako has hidden depths. I was rewatching Shippuden and got one of those scenes that has always seriously made me angry. So this chapter happened._

 _It gets a little more serious than we've seen so far in this fic near the end, but sometimes that's necessary. I've been trying to work in some of Manako's backstory and character arc gradually through the fic, but this chapter came out in a chunk._

 _Oh well._

 _Unedited for now._

* * *

"Let's stop for lunch," Manako suggests, nodding her head at Ichiraku as she and Hana pass nearby.

"Only if you pay," her sister smirks at her.

"Cheapskate."

"Consider it compensation for me having to watch you fail at flirting with Ayame again."

"You should be the one paying for the pleasure of my company, since it's been so long."

It's rare that Hana and Manako have the same lunch break. The veterinary has people bringing their pets and ninken in at all hours, and Manako sometimes gets so wrapped up in one of her projects that she forgets to eat. Such was the case today, and she would still be working if Uncle Saburo hadn't usurped her spot at the workbench for some kind of secret project.

She figures it's for Jiraiya again, though the old pervert hasn't been around Konoha for weeks.

As she and her sister duck behind the hanging cloth letters of the ramen bar, a solid figure bursts out—the Uzumaki kid from Kiba's class, shoving past them without apology. As he bursts into a heedless run into the heart of the village, both girls curl their lips reflexively.

Manako doesn't know why the rest of the village has an issue with the boy, but her own unease is visceral; Hana's is too. Somewhere deep in the Inuzuka blood lingers the spirit of the wolf, and there's something _off_ about the boy that would have her raising her hackles if she had any. She'd say it was an ominous smell, except it's not really that.

(Though the kid could stand to take a few more showers, since he stinks like old sweat…)

 _Not his fault,_ she tells herself. _Maybe some kids are just born under a bad star._

She very carefully doesn't think of another orphan boy that she knows who was _definitely_ handed a rough deal.

Once the Uzumaki boy is out of range, Manako relaxes and senses her twin do the same, the instinctive tension drawing out of them. At the same time Ayame looks up at them both.

"Well! This is a surprise! I rarely see you two together these days," she says with a grin. "You might look alike, but I swear you're the sun and the moon."

"Poetic as always," Manako says, and flutters her eyelashes exaggeratedly. Beside her, Hana snorts.

"Take a seat," Ayame says, reaching for a cloth. "I've got space for you over here, just let me finish cleaning up after Naruto. He's a messy eater!"

There's a note of sisterly frustration there that Manako recognises all to well.

"You're real nice to that kid, Ayame," she says. "I don't know how you haven't gotten sick of him yet. I swear he eats three meals a day here!"

"Usually only the one," Ayame replies, swiping a rag across the counter space as the girls take a seat.

"Still. Most people pretend not to see him," Hana points out. "Or worse."

"He's a good boy," Ayame sighs. "It's a shame people don't treat him better."

"Now see, this is why I like you," Manako purrs. "You're smart and kind, not to mention beautiful…"

"You're still paying your bill, Manako."

"I'm just _saying_! You're good people."

"Well, so are you."

"Not really," Manako says with a depreciating smile, and gets an elbow in the rib from her sister, who jerks her head toward the menu.

 _Spoilsport…_

She and Hana place their orders. Ayama beams at them both, assuring them it will only be a moment, and heads to the stove.

"It _is_ nice to grab a bite to eat with you," Hana says after a moment. "It feels like we never see you."

"You're busy. I'm busy. It is what it is."

"You should come to dinner this weekend. Mom's supposed to be back from her mission, and she's always asking me to ask you to come over."

"Funny how she can't find the time to do it herself," Manako replies airily, reaching for a set of chopsticks and ripping the paper off.

"Well if you two weren't so stubborn," Hana grumbles.

"Pot? This is kettle. You're black."

Hana ignores that. "And it's not just Mom, you know. Kiba misses you."

"Don't pull that," Manako replies, unimpressed but unsurprised at the tactic. "You know if he's not lurking around your clinic, he's trying to steal flash bombs from my shop. I see him more than anyone else."

"And that's why you should visit more often. You'd think we didn't even live in the same village anymore! Besides, everyone would be really happy if you were around more often."

"I can name a bunch who _wouldn't_."

"And Cousin Akiko just had a baby."

"Ah, _there's_ the ulterior motive."

"How is _that_ an ulterior motive?!"

"Obviously they're expecting me to babysit," Manako snorts. "Because of course, everyone in the family who's not part of the reserves has to be on kid duty. It's like they figure I've got nothing else going in my life!"

"You _don't_ have anything going in your life."

"Avoiding stupid people is a thing."

"Not a thing that will give you an excuse to miss another dinner."

"There's no excuse needed, I _actually_ have work."

Hana crosses her arms at her. "You've already skipped dinner three times this month. If you go for another, Mom is going to hunt you down. And when she sees the state of your apartment, either she'll spend the whole day scrubbing every speck of dirt she comes across while yelling at you, or she'll burn the place down before something in your fridge evolves sentience."

"Ah, good old Mom. From one extreme to the other," Manako smirks. Tsume Inuzuka may be a rough and tumble woman in the field, but she's obsessive compulsive about her housekeeping. Privately Manako thinks her mother overcompensates for the fact that her father isn't around anymore, but she's always known better than to point that out.

"Your even more in for it if she finds the huge collection of those colourful… _items_ in your bedside table drawer," Hana continues in a lower voice.

"How do you know what's in my bedside table drawer? You are such a snoop!"

"I wasn't snooping, I was looking for a pen."

"Who even keeps _pens_ in their bedside tables anymore? And why were you in my apartment, anyway?"

"Someone has to make sure you're eating more than fried potatoes and cereal," Hana maintains.

"And that someone has to root around in my private belongings? I totally regret giving you a key."

"You know I don't need a key to get in there if I want to."

"Well, that makes me regret it even worse."

They glare at each other. Hana breathes in through her nose, like she's grounding herself or counting to ten in her head, and in a level voice says, "Manako, you can't avoid her forever. She's your mother, too."

"I don't avoid her. You said it yourself, I go to dinner every…what, month or so?"

"And then you spend like an hour sitting like a statue while Mom and Kiba fill up the silence, and then take off again."

"So what? If I have nothing to say, I have nothing to say."

"You're you. You _always_ have something to say," Hana scowls. "This whole 'avoiding the family' thing of yours is getting ridiculous. If you would just—"

"Not talking about it, Hana."

"You _never_ want to talk about it! Are you seriously going to spend the rest of your life angry at her?"

"I dunno, does she want to spend the rest of _her_ life pretending like she didn't do anything wrong?"

"In her view, she didn't."

"Well, in my view, she _did_. So we're at an impasse. Would you stop playing peacekeeper and trying to fix everything? It's annoying."

"Manako…" her sister looks troubled, and Manako decides she's allowed the conversation to go on longer than she should have.

"I think I might order something for Uncle while I'm here. Otherwise he'll complain the whole day about how I'm starving him to death."

Ayame, balancing two bowls in her hands, says, "I can prepare his regular order for you while you two eat."

"You're a good woman," Manako says with a wry grin. Then, putting her hand to her heart and pretending to swoon, she says, "Ayame, moon of my heart and star of my night sky! When are you going to leave behind this life of drudgery and strained noodles, and run away with me?"

"You're being ridiculous," Ayame laughs as she sets down the girls' orders. "And you've been hanging around with Gai again, haven't you?"

"Heh. 'Hanging out' would be a stretch, but he has become a regular at the shop. And you have to admit, weird jumpsuits aside, he has a way with words."

"I don't get it," Hana sighs, abandoning their previous conversation with only a trace of reluctance to show for it. "Almost four years you could count the number of people you actually liked on one hand. And now in the span of four weeks, you've made friends with the two weirdest and most infamous men in Konoha." She stabs a chopstick in Manako's direction. "What, was the village out of _normal_ people?"

"Normal's overrated."

"They're definitely not normal… Sometimes I can't believe those two are elite jōnin," Ayama muses thoughtfully. "Do you know they gorged themselves on ramen a few nights ago, trying to see who eat the most? The mess…"

She shivers, remembering something unpleasant.

"Well, men do mature slower," Hana says. "I have a theory—want to hear my theory?"

"You're going to tell us anyway," Manako points out.

"I think you have to subtract ten years from an average adult male's age to figure out his actual mentality."

"So you're basically saying they're a pair of fourteen-year-old boys at heart."

"That makes sense," Ayame muses. "I'm _pretty_ sure I saw Gai trying to play _kancho_ pranks on Kakashi…"

Manako's eyes light up in delight. "No way!"

"Oh, yeah. It was right there, out in the open—he practically yelled it at the top of his lungs." Ayame adopts a dynamic pose, still holding on to the ladle for the ramen. "I have you now, Kakashi! _One Thousand Years of Death!"_

Hana and Manako burst into laughter, both at the impression and at the imagery Ayame offers up.

 _Why are all the fun ones straight?_ Manako wonders with only a trace of self-pity.

Ayame excuses herself to help another customer, and Manako and Hana eat their meal in relative silence—minus a few cutting quips at each other. They've barely finished eating when Hana gets to her feet.

"I'm off. I don't want to leave Uncle Kōga on his own too long. The waiting room tends to fill up right after lunch." She offers Manako a considering look, and then says, "Just think about dinner, okay?"

And she leaves before her sister can refuse or even make one last snide comment.

Manako scowls at her back.

Her mood remains bleak even as Ayame comes to bring her the take-out container, and she only manages a sullen murmur of thanks before she stalks off.

 _Why does she always have to do that? You'd think she was three years older instead of three minutes…_

As she nears the middle of the street market, there is a commotion up ahead.

"Hey, you little brat!"

"Huh?"

"Get out of here!"

Her eyes are attracted first to the violent orange shirt worn by Naruto Uzumaki, before movement in front of him draws her attention. Through a gathering crowd she watches a mustachioed street vendor reach out and shove the boy until he falls back on the ground.

Manako is frozen for a moment. Later she will be ashamed that she acts like everyone else, just standing around and watching the display without moving to help, but right now she is immobilized by her own disbelief.

The boy recovers himself and stares up at the man in anger, hurt and confusion. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"I don't want you here! You're nothing but a pest!"

"But I wasn't even doing anything!" the blond boy protests. Then, he lowers his eyes almost in embarrassment. Manako barely hears his next words over the murmuring of the crowd. "I mean, I was just looking at the masks you have."

"Here, is this what you want?" the vendor sneers, and then lobs a white animal-style porcelain mask at the boy.

Manako doesn't hear the next bit, too floored by the unwarranted assault.

Somehow, the possibility of such a thing never occurred to her. The kid is disliked, sure, and she's never thought too closely about the reason, but she never thought anyone would actually physically _harm_ him.

A smack for discipline is one thing—she received enough of those growing up, as a means of dissuading bad behavior or to make a lesson stick. But to lash out at a kid out of anger—

Something within her snarls.

 _Adults are supposed to protect the young, not harm them!_

She takes a step forward, intending to intervene, but her momentary hesitance has cost her. The kid, wincing at the growing bruise on his forehead and clearly holding back tears even as he curses out the countless bystanders, is already taking off at a run.

The din of hushed conversation and commentary washes spreads across the open street, gossipmongers already wagging their tongues. Manako even sees the expressions of peevish glee on some people. As if to say the boy got exactly what he deserved.

Her hold on the take-out container vanishes, and she is barely aware of it falling into the dirt behind her as she stalks forward.

When she reaches the stall, the man is already putting a new mask on his wall.

 _As if he didn't just attack a kid!_

"Hey. Old man," she says in a low, carefully controlled tone. When the flustered and angry shopkeeper looks up, an expression of indignation on his face which freezes at her icy glare. "I ever see you hit a kid in this village again in anger—even if it's _that_ kid—this little stall of yours is going to become matchsticks on the ground."

Her words are delivered without inflection, the tone a statement of fact rather than threat.

The man takes a half-step back, before his face turns an angrier shade of red and he shouts, "And what business it is of _yours_?"

"None maybe. But I don't like bullies."

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong! That brat isn't some innocent victim!"

"Don't tell me you're intimidated by a ten-year-old," she drawls. "Are you that insecure you have to pick on someone smaller than you to feel like a man?"

"Don't speak of things you're too young to understand!"

"Then don't act like a prick."

The crowd of people who were watching the incident with the Uzumaki boy earlier now stand by watching her. Their murmuring from before starts up again, but this time the grumbling is directed at her.

"Isn't she a dropout?"

"Who does she think she is, getting involved?"

"Even her own clan is embarrassed of her."

"Couldn't hack it as real shinobi…what, does she think she's neighborhood watch now?"

"I might as well be," she says loudly, turning to glare at the woman nearest her who made the last comment. "Unless you want the job?" The heckler goes pale, but her mouth firms in stubbornness, and Manako stares around in challenge. "Or someone else here? You're all quick to comment, but I didn't see any of you jerks act to help someone smaller and weaker than you."

Most of the crowd avoids her gaze. There are two kids nearby—an Akimichi and a Nara by the look of them—that at least look troubled, but everyone else looks at her as if she has broken some taboo.

Manako bares her teeth in an expression only a fool would call a smile, and growls.

"If I hear tell of something like this again, I'll make sure you people spend the rest of your natural lives checking for explosives on your chairs or in your toilets. Act like shit, and you get shit." She pitches her voice louder for those in the back and glares at the rubberneckers. "I don't care if you don't like him—I don't care what your reasons are. I don't like him either, but that doesn't give me an excuse to beat on him. It's enough the kid's an orphan, you think it's okay to kick him around like a stray dog?" She clenches her fists. "You're fucking adults. Act like it, or _I'll_ get involved. Trust me when I say I can do a lot worse than a bit of graffiti."

She looks around once more, trying to meet everyone's eyes in turn until they look away or hurry off in well-deserved shame. Then, with one last furious glare, she turns on her heel and marches back the way she came.

Just beyond the edge of the crowd, she finds herself face to face with Kakashi. He is holding two bags of groceries and his one eye staring down at her in a serious manner. To Manako, it feels like he is evaluating her.

"And where the hell were you?" she snaps, her anger giving way to disappointment. She might not have a long history with Kakashi, but by his reputation, he's supposed to be a decent person. At least she thought so before. "Were you just standing there watching like everyone else?"

"I only just turned the corner," he tells her. "And you were handling it."

"Feh. _Handling_ it," she repeats bitterly. "It's not _my_ job to handle this stuff. You shinobi are the ones supposed to be keeping the peace. That includes looking out for a brat like him." Something in the jōnin's expression softens, and a jolt of defensiveness hits her. " _What_?"

"Nothing," he tells her mildly. "I'm just surprised. It's not every day that boy has someone stick up for him."

"It's not just him I'm sticking up for," she mutters, a little defensive, because she doesn't want him misconstruing her uncharacteristic outburst as some kind of attempt to be heroic. Flash of conscience aside, she still doesn't like the Uzumaki kid, and most of her threats were bluster. "There are some things that are just unforgiveable. People should know better. _Shinobi_ should know better."

The shape of Kakashi's mouth turns down beneath his mask, but she doesn't care if he isn't pleased with her words.

"Everyone in the shinobi corps—even retired ones—act like they're _so_ noble and heroic on this outside," she goes on furiously. "But then they go out and hurt people. All because of what? _Orders_? To prove they're strong?"

A memory surfaces that causes a lump to grow in her throat—a pristine hospital and countless stretchers with bloody sheets over them; her legs burning, running to keep anyone from catching her or stopping her; screaming a name at a body under a white sheet, the only one not covered in blood but just as motionless as the rest—

The pale wrist falling from beneath the cover as the medic-nin carried it away.

Manako clenches her fists and forces the memory back down.

"Anyone that beats on a kid is worse than scum in my book," she says coldly, "shinobi or not."

She notices the way his eye widen fractionally at this, but she's too angry to wonder just what she said that would garner such a reaction. Instead, she stalks past him, trailing fury behind her and her day unquestionably ruined.

* * *

 _I know there haven't been a lot of shippy-interactions between Kakashi and Manako in the past few chapters, but it is a slow burn relationship and I'm really trying to show that they have a lot of seemingly innocuous interactions before romance even becomes an option._

 _For those of you impatient to see some Kakashi/Manako action, though, I recently posted a one-shot to my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu) called "Take-Out". It's NSFW, so be warned :P_

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! I'm only able to keep writing as I do thanks to the encouragement of readers like you, so every bit of support helps!

 **栗**


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